The Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) is reportedly getting some help from the DMC International Imaging (DMCii) in predicting the spread of locust plagues across North Africa.
With locust plagues threatening to decimate crops and endanger the countries’ food, the satellite imagery that DMCii is providing helps a lot in predicting the locations of locust breeding grounds through assessing vegetation conditions.
“The use of satellite imagery has helped us in the past, during the invasion period, to identify and control areas at risk of locust swarms,” said the International Cooperation Director of the Algerian Space Agency, Karim Houari. “This year, in terms of locust risk prediction in remission period, we used DMCii data for the ecological assessment of locust breeding areas (biotopes). It is an important contribution for the rationalisation of local response and to reduce damage of this destructive phenomenon.”
“The ability to get timely imagery of large areas is vital because locust swarms can develop quickly and travel about 100 kms a day. Our 650 kms-wide images allow large areas of land, spanning multiple countries, to be rapidly monitored, helping the local authorities combat locust swarms before they can migrate across the continent,” DMCii Director of Sales and Marketing, Paul Stephens said.
See also: Ku-Band Capacity
Asia’s premier regional satellite operator, AsiaSat, and the privately-held, commercial company, GeoMetWatch, partners strategically in hosting the of the first of six Sounding & Tracking Observatory for Regional Meteorology (STORM) instruments on board a new satellite planned to be launched by AsiaSat in 2016.
“We are pleased to have reached this cooperation agreement with GeoMetWatch,” said AsiaSat President and Chief Executive Office, William Wade. “We are excited to take part in this ground breaking project that will provide advanced data to improve weather forecasting, natural disaster monitoring and climate modeling. This new partnership with GeoMetWatch will open up new opportunities to expand our satellite services into new areas, and allow us to explore a new source of revenue for the company.”
GeoMetWatch CEO, David Crain, said, “GeoMetWatch’s partnership with AsiaSat is a significant step towards the implementation of our global geostationary hyperspectral sounder constellation. The first STORM™ sensor will provide unprecedented atmospheric and weather data over Asia and the Pacific region, for which we have already had significant interest to purchase the data when available. For the past 25 years, AsiaSat has been the preeminent satellite operator in Asia and we are pleased that our first STORM hyperspectral sounder will be hosted on their satellite.”
The new AsiaSat satellite will host the first hyperspectral STORM sensor that will collect and return to Earth sophisticated and critical weather data not currently available, enabling meteorologists to provide better daily forecasts, predict severe weather and atmospheric instability more accurately, and improve location and storm tracking and analysis of the intensity of hurricanes and typhoons, resulting in earlier evacuations that can improve the preservation of lives and property.
The first STORM sensor is currently being manufactured by Utah State University’s Advanced Weather Systems (AWS). “AWS is thrilled to be a part of the GMW-AsiaSat partnership. This unprecedented partnership and the activities that will come from it will revolutionize the weather sensor and data community; it will also provide a more efficient business model to secure and distribute weather data,” said AWS Board Member and USU Vice-President for commercialization, Robert T. Behunin.
See also: Ku-Band Capacity
The leading diversified communications company, Rogers Communications, is bringing its LTE network to 44 more markets across the country this coming spring. With the company’s blazing fast 2600 MHz LTE spectrum band available in all markets, 34 of the 44 new markets will be capable of maximum theoretical network speeds of up to 150 Mbps.
Rogers Communications Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, John Boynton, said, “We’re thrilled to offer the country’s fastest wireless internet to more Canadians over the coming months. Today, Canadians are more connected than ever and are using their wireless devices in a number of ways – for live streaming HD programming, downloading large files, streaming YouTube clips and music, or enjoying the latest game from their app store of choice. The power of the network is critical to enabling these digital experiences, and with Rogers LTE, Canadians are getting more use out of their devices, at the fastest speeds available.”
The 44 new LTE markets that Rogers announced include Saint John, New Brunswick; Medicine Hat, Alberta; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; Guelph, Ontario; Muskoka, Ontario; Collingwood, Ontario; and multiple cities in Quebec.
Boynton adds, “It is our commitment to offer customers the fastest wireless internet experience in Canada. As we continue to invest in innovative and exclusive 2600-enabled devices, as well as the rollout of Canada’s fastest LTE network and our 2600 spectrum, more Rogers customers will enjoy an enhanced, superior wireless experience.”
See also: VSAT: Broadband
One of the world’s leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, Hughes Network Systems, announced that the company has successfully demonstrated high-throughput video and data transmission over SATCOM links on a variety of rotary wing platforms. According to the satellite broadband giant’s press release, employing an advanced waveform technology developed by Hughes, the new communications-on-the-move (COTM) microsat system achieved zero packet loss on transmission and reception through the rotor blades, over both Ka and Ku-band satellite channels.
Tests were conducted on a variety of military and commercial helicopters in both static and in-flight environments that included numerous pitch, bank and roll maneuvers. In all cases, the Hughes microsat system successfully transmitted full motion video (FMV) beyond the line-of-sight (BLoS) through the rotor blades over both conventional Ku-band global beam and Ka-band global or spot beam satellites. The system operates with a variety of commercially-available airborne antennas, facilitating integration with various government, military and commercial platforms.
Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division’s Vice-President and General Manager, Rick Lober said, “Hughes continues to lead in developing innovative, cost-effective mobility solutions for military and commercial applications. Our new microsat technology is ideal for C2 and ISR missions in all airborne as well as maritime and land environments, combining patented waveform design on a proven, and common platform for all applications — unlike other single-use solutions.”
See also: Wireless Backhaul
Satellite operator, SES and the European Communications Service Provider, BT, signed a contract to provide satellite communications infrastructure and services for Galileo Data Dissemination Network (GDDN) and support the Galileo Operator Spaceopal.
The contract, signed in the presence of François Biltgen, Grand-Duchy’s Minister for Higher Education and Research Minister, includes the deployment, maintenance and support of Satcom ground infrastructure at various remote locations around the world including Antarctica, the provision of satellite capacity, and the monitoring and control of the GDDN satellite network. The deal was signed in Luxembourg through SES service company, SES TechCom.
On behalf of the European Union, Galileo is managed by European Space Agency and developed as Europe’s initiative for a global satellite navigation system, designed to provide a highly accurate.
GDDN interconnects the two Galileo Control Centers in Italy and Germany to an extensive network of sensor stations, uplink stations and Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) stations distributed around the world. The GDDN also provides the connectivity to the Galileo satellite test and launch facilities, security monitoring centers, network management facilities and external entities.
Galileo is much more than operating satellites in space from control centers in Oberpfaffenhofen and Fucino. The overall operations management needs permanent connections, with infrastructure distributed around the globe,” said Spaceopal MD, Francesco d`Amore. “The worldwide network is essential to ensure the continuity and reliability of the time and positioning information. Therefore, Spaceopal relies on the huge experience of both European communication service providers BT and SES.”
See Also: Broadcast Networks
The American communications company, ViaSat ‘s satellite earned a Guinness World Records title “highest-capacity communications satellite in the world.” ViaSat-1 satellite powers Exede® Internet service since its launch in October 2011 and has had more capacity than all other communication satellites covering North America combined.
In a report at ViaSat’s website, the company stated, “The record confirms that ViaSat-1 provides the most total throughput capacity over the U.S. and Canada – 100 times the capacity of a typical Ku-band satellite and 10 times the throughput of any Ka-band satellite launched prior to ViaSat-1. Combined with the company’s innovative ground system, the new system is transforming the economics and quality of service offered by satellite Internet service. In addition to powering the 12 Mbps Exede Internet service, ViaSat-1 will provide the bandwidth for a new generation of enterprise services, including in-flight broadband for commercial aviation.”
Chairman and CEO of ViaSat, Mark Dankberg said, “The Guinness World Records title is an important recognition of our breakthrough technology and a testament to the work done by our team of innovators. Best of all, it’s allowing us to deliver on our commitment to provide a high quality customer experience for satellite broadband service.”
Exede® Internet have signed more than 200,000 subscribers since January 2012. This Guinness recognition marks the second major recognition for the Exede® Internet service (first being the annual FCC benchmarking report, 2013 Measuring Broadband America, Exede service led all Internet providers in surpassing advertised speeds).
See also: Ku-band Satellite
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency (NASA) will be updating its Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft this coming summer.
Updates include an Inmarsat (a British satellite telecommunications company) communications technology. Also, NASA chose to install a custom AIRLINK conformal antenna system from the American spacecraft manufacturer, Ball Aerospace.
A modified version of Boeing 747 jumbo jet, SOFIA carries a 100-inch diameter reflecting telescope providing astronomers with access to the visible, infrared and sub-millimeter spectrum, with optimized performance in the mid-infrared to sub-millimeter range.
The updates will all be installed in Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, California. Also, installing of antenna system will occur between August and September, therefore, the engineering design, equipment purchasing, and delivery will be accomplished prior to this window of opportunity.
See also: Terrestrial Backhaul
Guinness World Records, formerly The Guinness Book of Records, gave the title ‘Longest-Operating Earth Observation Satellite’ to Landsat 5. An e-mail sent to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Said satellite outlived its life-expectancy of three years and is now operating for 28 years and 10 months.
Landsat 5 was launched by NASA from Vandenberg Air Force base in Lompoc, California on March 1, 1984. The satellite carried the same instrument as Landsat 4 such as the Multispectral Scanner System (MSS) and the Thematic Mapper (TM). Landsat 5 also completed over 150,000 orbits and sent back more than 2.5 million images of Earth’s surface with the management of the U.S. Geological Survery (USGS).
USGS, unfortunately, announced last December 21, 2012 that Landsat 5 had a failure of a redundant gyroscope and will have to be decommissioned.
Anne Castle, Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Water and Science, said in a press release, “This is the end of an era for a remarkable satellite, and the fact that it flew for almost three decades is a testament to the NASA engineers who launched it and the USGS team who kept it flying well beyond its expected lifetime.”
Equipped with extra fuel, Landsat 5 faced and got passed through more than 20 technical issue through its entire lifetime.
“The efforts of the Landsat team were heroic. Landsat 5 could not have lasted so long without the dedication and devotion of the USGS flight operations team that overcame a number of difficult technical challenges over the last 12 years,” said LDCM project scientist, Jim Irons.
“Landsat 5 saved the Landsat program. This satellite’s longevity preserved the Landsat program through the loss of Landsat 6 in 1993, preventing the specter of a data gap before the launch of Landsat 7 in 1999,” Irons adds.
The Landsat program is still serving its purpose of providing data used across United States. and the world for agricultural and forest monitoring and water resource management, among many other environmental applications. Now, Landsat 7’s next successor was launched last February 11, equipped with two new instruments: the Operational Land Imager and the Thermal Infrared Sensor to collect data that are compatible with data from Landsat 5 & 7and improve upon it with advanced instrument designs that are more sensitive to changes to the land surface, according to Irons.
Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) will continue the Landsat program’s 40-year data record of monitoring Earth from space.
See also: Mobile Backhauling
Link Hoewing, Assistant Vice President of Internet and Technology Issues of Verizon Communications claims that the American broadband and telecommunications company is “ready and willing to offer 1 GBpS connections” to its customers if they demand. Contrary to their initial emphasis on speed, Verizon is now arguing that speed doesn’t really tell the whole story.
“We’ve already demonstrated we can deliver 1Gbps and even 10 Gbps speeds over the same fiber to a home. As consumer demands and needs grow, we can increase our speeds. But offering a high speed connection to the home does not tell the full story when it comes to delivering the best possible and most capable broadband service. A high number of bits-per-second-connection alone isn’t sufficient, because other factors aside from speed affect the quality and capability of a connection,” explains Hoewing.
Satellite service provider for enterprise customers, internet service providers, and government agencies in Russia, RuSat, partners with a satellite applications provider, NewTec in launching a new satellite broadband service using Newtec’s latest VSAT hub and end-user terminal technology.
Until last year VSAT services available in Russia are expensive and are available only on limited parts of the country, RuSat, with the help of NewTec’s Yamal-402 (launched last December 08, 2012), is now providing satellite broadband services all over the Russian territory.
“We have made an extensive market analysis and selected Newtec’s VSAT technology for our new satellite broadband service. We are impressed by the ease of use, the bandwidth efficiency and the price attractiveness of the end-user terminal. This means we can keep our service pricing as low as possible for our customers without jeopardising quality. That is key! Additionally, Newtec has an excellent reputation for equipment reliability and customer service so we are pleased to partner with them,” said Sergey Alymov, General Director of RuSat.
The new technology gathered quite a number of customers including Europe’s most successful satellite broadband service since NewTec started shipping its new high-speed VSAT broadband technology. However, RuSat service will utilise Ku band, the terminals can be easily upgraded later to operate in Ka band by a simple change of Newtec’s interactive LNB and with no hardware adaptation to the satellite modem or the antenna.
“The Russian VSAT broadband market is experiencing a real boost as more capacity becomes available over a wider geographic area. We are proud that we can help RuSat offering market leading satellite broadband services and this at a very competitive price point both for the professional and the consumer market,” added Serge Van Herck, CEO of Newtec.
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Signal of Satellite 